When you think of squirrels, you usually come up with a mental image of these things happily gnawing on a nut or stealing some sunflower seeds out of your bird feeder. In reality, squirrels chew on a heck of more than nuts. Squirrels can destroy wooden bird feeders with their teeth and will gnaw through Plexiglas like it is butter.

But what about that hole in your aluminum screen or that damage up on your roof flashing? Could a squirrel have done that? Can squirrels chew through aluminum?? Let’s find out.

Yes, squirrels can easily chew through aluminum and other soft metals such as copper. A squirrel will gnaw through this metal if it locates a food source on the other side or is in trying to make a nest in your attic. Check out the damage done by a squirrel in the following videos:

We have a Wheaten Terrier in our family named Millie and she is the most determined animal that I have ever seen. Millie is determined that no teenagers will leave our house, no delivery man will enter our house and that our Golden Retriever shall NOT chase the laser pointer.

And she is not kidding around.

The thing that Millie is most determined about is that she will kill all of the squirrels in our yard. She hasn’t caught one yet but she has a plan. If you have a dog like Millie with a strong prey drive then you might be wondering, “Will my dog get sick if it kills a squirrel?” Let’s take a look and find out!

The tail on a squirrel is a fascinating device that has a lot of uses. Those fluffy appendages help with balance, regulate body temperature, break their falls, are used for communication and even battle!

Keep reading to learn some pretty amazing ways that squirrels use their tails including Fighting Rattlesnakes!

Squirrels are clever creatures that have adapted well to living among people. Squirrels are also extremely intelligent critters that have demonstrated that they have excellent memories. Given their close proximity to us and their great memories it begs the question, “Do squirrels remember humans?”

There are many well documented cases of squirrels remembering humans. Orphaned squirrels that were raised by a human are will often return and visit their foster parents. Wild squirrels are easily trained to remember that certain people can be safe and trusted sources of food. The strong memory of squirrels has been demonstrated in academic studies of their ability to repeat complicated tasks such as navigating mazes and working a series of levers.

A few days ago I was having fun watching a few squirrels chase each other around the squirrel feeder I have in the backyard. The chase is sometimes part of the mating process, either through the establishment of the dominant male or by the pursuit of the available female. It got me wondering about the whole mating process (I think about things like that after three cups of coffee) and I decided to find out if squirrels mate for life. Here is what I learned.

Squirrels do not mate for life. Female squirrels are in estrus for only a few hours each year and will mate with any males in her territory. There is vigorous competition for the female and she will often mate with multiple males producing litters of mixed parentage. Once the mating is complete the male plays little role in the raising of the squirrel pups.

We have a simple wood deck that extends off our back porch. Through a series of random events we ended up needing to give it a good cleaning before we applied a new coat of waterproof stain. So, how do you clean a wood deck?

Brush away large debris and then clean with a power washer making sure the washer settings do not tear up the wood. The power washer will remove almost all of the surface dirt and mildew. To finalize the cleaning and brighten the deck use a long handled brush to scrub the deck with a bleach based commercial deck cleaner.

When I was putting that list together I saw an option that got me thinking about something different. One of the hanging chairs that I liked was a suspended chaise lounge. I figured that if I liked a hanging lounger then I ought to spend a little time digging into more traditional outdoor chaise lounge chairs and see if I could turn up some other interesting options.

Part of my plan for Operation Sunflower Garden is adding a spot to chill out and listen to the birds while enjoying the flowers. I am split between adding a traditional hammock or going with a hanging chair. Whichever route I go I am going to need something that comes with its own stand as I don’t have the right tress to hang something and I have no desire to install posts.

You have quite a few options for an outdoor hanging chair with stands. There are chairs for just yourself and some that will hold you and your special someone! You’ve got some that are egg shaped, some that are hammocks and a few ratan options.

It took a while but I finally sorted out a “Top Ten List” that should have something that will be absolutely perfect for your backyard.